


Broken Hearts

by ChaoticEmbers



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Abuse, Age-up to 21, Angst, F/M, Romance, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2019-01-04 23:11:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12178341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticEmbers/pseuds/ChaoticEmbers
Summary: Ember Labrie, an outcast Pokemon trainer with a single goal: find her brother.Ember has been an outcast almost all her life, but that won't stop her on her quest to save her only sibling. When she faces some of the hardest challenges of her life, will she continue on?Lucas Rife, a talented battler in love with the person closest to him.Lucas has been looking at one person all of his life, and he'll be damned if he's going to lose her now. When he encounters the biggest problem to his desires, will he win the love of his life's heart?Gladion Everlue, a "villain" on the run from his past.Gladion has been running from his past for most of his life. When he meets the one person that can change everything, will he let her into his life?When the three meet, pasts collide, love sparks, and a rivalry for the ages begins. They will all go through anger, pain, sadness, hope, and love. Who will prevail?





	1. Prologue

The tall, dark figure looked down at the sleeping little girl, a resigned look on his face. The tiny child was fast asleep, her normally stunning amethyst eyes shut tight, her blonde curls fanning her face. Beside her, on each side, the teenage boy had lain two eggs the size of watermelons. One was a reddish orange and covered in swirling designs of fire. It seemed to pulse with heat. The other one was as white as snow, with pale lilac flowers decorating the shell. Unlike the first egg, it radiated cold, although not enough to harm the little child.

The teen shifted to hang over the girl, kissing the top of her forehead. “Goodbye, little one.” he whispered, his voice raw with emotion. “I hope, for your own sake, that we never meet again.” Noise sounded out in the hallway, and as the boy leaped out the window, he gave the girl one last sorrowful look.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

“Mommy? Rylen?” The little girl asked, rubbing sleep out of her eyes as she sat up. Her eyes lit up with excitement, and all the tiredness left her as she laid eyes on the two eggs beside her. “Rylen! The Pokémon fairy came!” She crowed, leaping out of bed and dashing to her brother’s room. “Rylen! Rylen?” She skidded to a halt, her excitement fading as she found her mother sobbing uncontrollably next to her brother’s bed, clutching a piece of paper to her chest.

“Mommy? Are you okay?” she asked uncertainly, tears starting to form at the corner of her eyes. “What’s wrong?” Her mother pulled her to her chest, heaving out another sob as she did so. “Rylen went far away sweetheart.” she choked out. “He can’t ever come back.”

The little girl started to wail. “No! He can’t! He promised to teach me all about Pokémon!” she cried. The girl’s cries only seemed to upset her mother more, and they both clutched each other, drowning in their grief together as the moon shone pale above them. The world would go on, although a piece of their hearts would be forever broken.


	2. Chapter 1: The Outcast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for checking out my story! I hope you enjoy!

I leaned against the side of the building, watching my best friend Lucas and his newly evolved arcanine battle a snotty nosed kid with a rattata. Lucas was obviously going easy on his opponent. The kid had been bugging him all morning for a battle, and he had finally given in after the twenty-third time of hearing “C’mon, don’t ya wanna battle?” I didn’t blame the kid. Lucas was this city's hero. My friend was made for Pokémon battles. He was a strategist, able to predict the moves of his opponent accurately while using his broad knowledge of type advantages and disadvantages to perform the perfect counterattack. Of course, his good looks helped him as well. He had light brown hair with deep blue eyes that made the ladies swoon whenever he walked into the room. When we were in high school, several fights had broken out between girls trying to ask him to prom. He was so disturbed that he ended up asking me to go as his date (as friends) to try to stop the fights. Two girls had tried to jump me, but luckily I could handle myself. No one bothered me again after that, and prom came and went peacefully.

“Ember!” The voice broke me out of my reminiscence, and I looked up to see Lucas running towards me. The kid had obviously lost, but instead of put out, he looked ecstatic.  
“Thank you Lucas!” he called, grinning from ear to ear. “Just wait until I tell my friends!” He took off, running down the street toward a group of preteen boys. Lucas groaned and took me by the hand, muttering “Run!” as the group of boys turned toward us in unison, like a flock of wingull that had just found a particularly juicy treat. I laughed as he pulled me onto his motorcycle with a panicked expression on his face, the children now racing down the street. I felt a bit bad for them as Lucas drove away.

“That was mean!” I called to him over the wind, still laughing. He only grunted and sped up the bike. I shook my head and laid it against his back, admiring the beautiful Kanto seaside as we sped by. We lived in Cerulean City, a mid-sized city in Kanto. It was big enough that it had all the services a proper city should have but small enough that everyone at least vaguely knew each other. Both Lucas and I had lived here our entire lives, although we hadn’t become best friends until we were six years old. Then we became inseparable. Everywhere we went, we went with each other. Lucas and Ember until the end. However, unlike Lucas, I was not well liked by the townsfolk.

I was 5’4, just shy of 5’5. Lucas towered over me at a whopping 6 feet tall. I had amethyst eyes and a heart-shaped face, with blonde curls that my mother once said she’d kill for. I had been told by many men that I was drop dead gorgeous. No, my looks were not why the townsfolk hated me, although that may have contributed to it. No, the townsfolk hated me because I couldn't battle with Pokémon. Or, rather, I refused to battle with other people’s Pokémon. In this society, strength was everything, even if it was never said out loud. Refusing to participate in the thing that people judged others worth on made me the outcast of Cerulean. Lucas was the only person who treated me like I was worth something besides my family. Then again, he knew my reason for refusing to battle.

Lucas slowed to a stop near the forested area we used so I could secretly practice. I frowned as I realized his heartbeat had been erratic the entire drive, even though we had stopped running from the mob of children.  
“You okay?” I asked, concern lacing my voice. “Your heart is beating out of your chest. Are you about to have an attack?” The poor guy had had bad asthma since a child. For some reason, Lucas blushed scarlet.  
“Go practice,” he muttered, attempting to, and failing miserably, push me off the bike. I gave him a confused look but did what he asked, stepping off the bike and heading toward the familiar woods.

For the past 15 years, these woods had been my home away from home. I loved the earthy scent, the green trees, and the Pokémon cries as the leapt from branch to branch or scurried along the ground, hidden by the tall grass. The forest was far away enough from town that the locals wouldn't think to look for me here, but close enough to my house that I could walk here in minutes.

The two pokeballs sitting on the belt around my waist began to shake with impatience. “Wait a second,” I told them sternly, and they both stopped after one final rebellious shake. I shook my head with amusement, took the first ball off its loop, and tossed it into the air. A beautiful, cream-colored creature emerged from the ball, landing gracefully on all fours and looking up at me with a petulant stare.  
“Hello, Kiri.” I cooed at her. “How is my beautiful girl today?” She looked slightly mollified by the compliment, but she was still a bit grumpy. My ninetails hated her Pokeball with a passion, and it took many treats and promises of a good scratching later to go inside it. I made good on my promise and started scratching the crest between her ears, her favorite spot. She snuggled up next to my leg and happily let out the eerily beautiful cry that all her kind had. I smiled at her affectionate behavior and continued to scratch as Lucas approached us.

“Where’s Rin?” he asked, sitting down beside me.  
“Still in his Pokeball. I think he’s sulking too.” I said, giving Kiri a look that she promptly ignored. I shook my head and grabbed the second Pokeball off my belt. I threw it like I had Kiri’s but the ball only landed unopened on the ground.  
“Rin, if you don’t stop sulking and get out now, I’ll give Kiri your share of treats tonight.” I threatened. Kiri looked thrilled by this prospect, but let out a disappointed hum as Rin emerged from his ball.

Rin was the real reason I never battled. He was obviously a ninetails, but at the same time, he wasn’t. Whereas Kiri’s typing was fire, I had figured out (after much experimentation), that Rin was an odd mix of ice and fairy. Where Kiri was cream colored everywhere except for the orange tips of her tails, Rin was a pale blue color with white tail-tips. I honestly had no idea what he was beside a ninetails, even after all the extensive research Lucas and I had done over the years. There was no way I could let anyone else see him. He was a deviant from the norm, and there was no way in hell was I going to let some asshole take him away from me and cart him off to some lab to be studied. He was my friend, not a lab rat.

Rin grumpily sat several feet away from me, avoiding eye contact. He hated his Pokeball even more than Kiri, but since I had to hide him so much, he was in it way more than he should be.  
“Come here,” I said soothingly, outstretching my arm to indicate I had a free scratching for him. He looked interested, but his stubbornness outweighed his interest. He continued ignoring me, his head turned as he deliberately studied the dead tree trunk next to him.  
“Your loss buddy,” I said, returning my free hand to scratching Kiri. She looked doubly delighted and did the Pokémon equivalent of smirking at Rin. When he thought I wasn’t looking, he scooted closer to me. He stopped and looked away again when I looked back up at him, and I tried really hard not to laugh as I looked back down at Kiri. A few moments later, I felt his soft, strangely chilly fur brush up against my leg as he settled on my other side. I took pity on him and pulled one hand from Kiri to give him equal attention.

Lucas, who had been watching the entire spectacle, burst out laughing when Rin practically purred at my touch.  
“Those two certainly are spirited,” he said, wiping away a stray tear as he struggled to calm his laughter. “Rylen sure gave you some amazing Pokémon.” I quieted at the reminder of my brother, and Lucas began to panic.  
“I’m sorry Em! That was extremely thoughtless of me.” He ducked his head, ashamed. I touched Lucas’s leg, silently letting him know that I was okay. Well, kind of okay.

Rylen had been my older brother by about ten years. I had adored him as a child, and he’d seemed to love me as well, constantly giving me attention, sweets when my mother’s back was turned, and all the love a six-year-old could ask for. However, the night before I had turned seven, Rylen had disappeared into thin air, leaving me only with two Pokémon eggs, a charm bracelet, and a note to my mother and I. I had read the note so much that I had it memorized by heart.

Mother and Ember,

I am so sorry that I have to leave you, but I need to live a life on my own. Please don’t

look for me, It’s safer this way for all of us.

Love,

Rylen

 

Mom had been devastated for a long time, but after several years she seemed to return to normal. I, on the other hand, was never quite the same. Rylen had been my role model. My protector. My brother. There was a Rylen-sized hole in my heart that could never quite be filled. Lucas, Kiri, and Rin helped a lot, but I was determined to find my brother. Somewhere, deep down inside me, I knew that he had not left willingly. I looked at Rin, who was frolicking around on the forest floor with Kiri and Leo, Lucas’ arcanine. He had to be the key to finding Rylen. I was so sure of it. Rylen was trying to tell me something with him.

A gasp sounded in the clearing and I froze. There, standing right in front of us, was a young woman. And she had her eyes fixed on Rin.


	3. Chapter Two: Travel Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ninetails are my favorite Pokemon, hands down. What's yours?

“Rin! Back!” I choked, cold fear rising in my chest. Rin, sensing how panicked I was, immediately returned to his Pokeball. I quickly latched his Pokeball back onto my belt and stood up, praying the woman would think she was just hallucinating.

“How beautiful!” The woman exclaimed, walking toward Lucas and I. “How did you get one so far from Alola?” I stared at her, confused. Lucas, sensing my confusion, answered for me.

“I’m sorry, but we have no idea what you’re talking about. Were you referring to my friend’s ninetails here?” he asked, gesturing to Kiri.

The woman gave him an annoyed look. “Do you really think I didn’t just see you return that ninetails to its ball? I’m asking where you got an Alolan ninetails. I have one of my own.” She reached into her purse and withdrew a Pokeball, releasing its contents. True to her word, a ninetails that looked similar to Rin emerged from the ball, cooing as she saw her trainer.

“This is Lyra.” the woman said proudly, giving her ninetails an affectionate rub on the head. “Oh, forgive my horrible manners. I’m Carol Lentz, but you can just call me Carol. I work for the Aether Foundation located in Alola. I’m here to collect data on Kantonian forms of Pokemon, since most of them differ greatly from the Alolan forms.”

“Alolan....forms?” I asked dumbly, finally getting my mouth to work. This woman’s mouth worked faster than my brain could keep up with.

“Oh, silly me!” she giggled. “I keep on forgetting that most of the world doesn’t know about Alolan forms. The Alolan government just gave the okay to release the information outside of Alola about a year ago, so they haven’t shown up in the education curriculum yet. Alolan forms are basically variants of more common Pokemon that are only found in Alola. Take your ninetails there.” she said, pointing at Kiri. “The Kantonian form, or the common form, is a fire type. Aloaln ninetails evolved long ago to live on the cold peaks of Mount Lanakila. As such, their typing is ice and fairy. Their coats evolved along with their typing to better blend in with the snow, so their coloring switched to a pale blue. Other examples are sandshrew, rattata, raichu, meowth, etc…. Alolan ninetails are still rare though. Oh, there I go again. I don’t believe I’ve let you introduce yourselves?”

Lucas introduced us to Miss Chatty, while my mind spun with the new information I’d acquired about Rin. If Rin was originally from Alola, could that mean…?

“Do you know a man named Rylen Labrie?” I asked a little desperately, interrupting Lucas’ conversation with Miss Chatty. It was a long shot, but if I could find Rylen….

“Hmmm.....” she said, tilting her head a bit as she thought. “Rylen...That name doesn't sound familiar, but the Aether Foundation has so many employees that I could be mistaken. Are you looking for him?”

“Uh...no.” I said, my mind whirling. “Thank you for the lecture, it was very insightful. Please excuse me, but I have to go now. It was nice to meet you.”

I started off in the direction of my house, tossing a “see you later” over my shoulder to Lucas. I felt his eyes on my back and knew he knew exactly what I was thinking. I was gonna get a lecture later from him about being reckless, but I didn’t care. I was going to find my brother.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Mom. Please.” I begged, putting on my best puppy face as I looked up at her. My mother was a tall, beautiful woman, but right now her face was scrunched up as she regarded me.

“Ember, this is huge. You aren’t asking for just a quick trip. You want to move to Alola! Without me!” My mother yelled. I felt a pang of guilt as I looked up at her sad, scared face. My father was a worthless piece of shit that had abandoned my family when I was two. Then we lost Rylen four years later. Now my mom was about to lose me.

I softened my voice a bit. “Mom, you are more than welcome to move to Alola with me. I only suggested moving alone because I know you love your job here. However, it’s about time for me to go on my Passage. All I’m changing is the region its taking place in” The Passage was the trip a citizen made the year they turned 21. The person would travel around the region, trying to defeat all eight gyms of that particular region. It was a rite of...well, passage. The Passage was considered complete after four gyms had been beaten, but those who completed more got better opportunities in life. My plan was to use the Passage as an opportunity to search for Rylen. He had to be in Alola. Why else would he have given me Rin?

She sighed, looking down at the floor. “You’re right sweetheart. You’re an adult now, and there’s no way I could move to Alola, especially when the office is this busy. It’s selfish, but I just don’t want to lose the only family I have left.” Her mouth began to quiver.

“Oh Momma.” I said, pulling her into a tight hug. “You will never lose me. No matter how far away I am, I will always come back for you.” We held each other for a long, silent moment, then slowly let go of each other.

“Ember, if you go, you have to promise me one thing.” she said, looking me dead in the eyes. “Never, and I mean never, put yourself in a dangerous situation if you can avoid it. You’ll be by yourself and know no one in Alola. It will give me a peace of mind if you promise to be hyper-vigilant.”

Dread pooled in my stomach. I had a feeling that I couldn’t keep that promise. Trouble seemed to follow me wherever I went. “I’ll try my best.” I promised, and I meant it.

“That’s all I can ask.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lucas

“How does such a smart person come up with such dumb ideas?!” I fumed, pacing the length of my room. I had just gotten back from another three-hour fight with Ember about her departure. The girl already had bought plane tickets for next week and the moving truck was going to pick up all her belongings tomorrow. Somehow, she had found an apartment within two days. 

Ember was smart. Smarter than even me, but she was so reckless. Never thinking twice about how things would affect her. How it affected others. Sure, she was exceedingly kind. She often bent over backward to accommodate people, especially loved ones. But when she set her mind to something there was nothing that could stop her. Like going to Alola. All alone. She had been like this since a kid, and I had loved her for it. I still loved her. For the past fifteen years, I had been in love with Ember Labrie, but she was too dense and I was a chicken. I didn’t wanna ruin the relationship with the most precious thing that had ever happened to me. Now she wanted to travel thousands of miles away from home without me.

I pulled out my phone, resolved. I had some phone calls to make. Ember may be going to Alola, but there was no way in hell she was leaving me behind.


	4. Chapter Three: Alola!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What does Lucas mean? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )

The Alolan sun shone harshly in my eyes as I got off the plane from Kanto. The ride to Alola had been awful. The child next to me had cried the entire trip, and the man on my other side didn’t know the meaning of personal space (which I was a firm believer in). Rin and Kiri were pissed at me again for making them go back into their balls for the flight. I would have to give them more treats later.

The flight attendant smiled at me as I took the last step off the plane. “Alola, and thank you for flying with us!” I smiled back and quickly headed off towards the baggage area. I knew the baggage claim would take forever, and I wanted to start my Passage as soon as possible.

“Alola cousin!” a voice called, and I turned to see a tall, tanned man wearing nothing but swim trunks and a lab coat waving at me. Next to him was a girl that looked around my age. She was a beauty, with long, platinum blonde hair and striking green eyes. Unlike the shirtless man, she was fully dressed in a long white sundress that fell to her knees.

“Professor Kukui!” I exclaimed, running toward the man. I launched myself at him, making him grunt with effort as he struggled to hold me up.

“Seriously Ember? You’re not five anymore.” he laughed, hugging me back. Kukui was a close associate of my mother’s. They were best friends in college and had many work projects together over the years. As a result, I had grown up around Kukui. To me, he was the father I never had.

“I know, but that’s tradition.” I shot back as he set me on the ground.

“Fair enough. I don’t believe you’ve met Lillie yet.” he said, gesturing to the pretty girl next to him. She took the hint and introduced herself.

“I’m Lillie Everlue. Professor Kukui was nice enough to take me in this year. I work for him as his research assistant.” She offered her hand to me.

“Ember Labrie.” I said, taking her hand in a firm shake. “I’m here to complete my Passage. Nice to meet you!”

“Charmed.” she simply said, smiling slightly.

“Well, we’re just waiting on one more person, then we should be good to go.” I turned toward Kukui, confused.

“One more person? You were expecting someone else on this flight?” I asked. He hadn't mentioned this to me at all.

“Just wait,” Kukui said, smiling devilishly. “I think you know him already. In fact, here he comes.”

I turned around to see Lucas Rife standing behind me with a smug ass grin on his face.

“Lucas?!” I shrieked, stepping back and doing a double take. “The hell are you doing here?”

“My dear Ember, I so do love surprising you.” he drawled, throwing his arm around my shoulder. “Funnily enough, Alola has been calling me, and I must obey. I will be taking my Passage here.”

I stared at Lucas, dumbfounded. “You’re telling me you traveled all the way to Alola just to follow me?”

“Noting of the sort! I want to complete my Passage here! That’s all!” he exclaimed indignantly.

I stared at him for a few more seconds before bursting into laughter. “You’re a freaking stalker!” I shouted, crying with laughter. “Lucas Rife is a stalker!”

Lucas glared at me while I struggled to catch my breath. Drying the laughter-tears from my eyes, I launched myself at him for a hug. After looking surprised for a split second, he caught me effortlessly, and I watched his angry glare change to a breathtaking smile that would knock out every girl for miles. “But seriously, thank you, I said tightening the hug. I’m glad I don’t have to do this alone.”

“Anything for you, Em.” he said, giving me a look I couldn’t quite decipher.

“All right, we can hug later!” Kukui exclaimed, interrupting Lucas’s stare. “We need to get y’all’s apartment set up!”

“Y’all’s?” I asked dubiously. “As in we’re sharing one?”

“I only have one extra house!” Kukui said. “Don’t complain, you get a free house! And an unexpected roommate!”

Kukui had been kind enough to give us his old house after he moved out. It was old and run down due to his experiments, but I was excited about the prospect of fixing it up. At least I could use Lucas for heavy labor now. And honestly, I was excited to live with him. We had practically lived in each other's houses as kids anyway. Just because we had stopped having sleepovers around 14 didn’t mean we couldn’t live together. I beamed at Lucas and grabbed my suitcase, heading towards the professor’s car. This was going to be fun.

___________________________________________________________________________

Lucas

The Professor did not just say that. There was no way he would make a red-blooded male live alone with a woman like a beautiful woman that he couldn't touch. Even if they were childhood friends. Especially if they were childhood friends. Strangers could have a one night stand with zero consequences. If I tried anything toward Ember thoughtlessly, I’d lose everything I had worked for. Maybe even Ember.

“This will be just like those sleepovers we had when we were little!” Ember exclaimed, all smiles. I inwardly cringed at the memory. Those had been fun until I had hit puberty. Then they were torture. I still vividly remember trying to calm down both my rapidly beating heart and...other areas of the body. As soon as we turned 14 I had ended them, much to Ember’s dismay. I had felt bad, but one too many nights of blue balls had taken its toll on me. Luckily Ember was dense as hell when it came to romance.

The car pulled to a stop outside of our new place and I got out, praying there would be two bedrooms. To my intense relief, there was, and they were both quite big. The house was actually decent, and would be very nice once Ember and I fixed everything up. We wouldn't be staying here much on our Passage, but if we decided to stay in Alola it would be ours. If I played my cards right, it might be for a long time to come.

___________________________________________________________________________

The summer sun shone brightly the next morning as Lucas and I walked to the Hau’oli shopping district for the things we needed for the new house. We both had to sleep on ratty old couches until we got new beds, and I was determined to get one today. My back still ached from the awkward position I’d had to sleep in.

Rin and Kiri were both outside their Pokeballs, playing chase with Leo, Lucas’s Arcanine. Since Rin was originally from Alola, I didn’t have to hide him anymore. Both he and Kiri were thrilled when I had told them there would be much less ball time. I smiled as Kiri batted at Rin with a playful paw and then ran out of range when he tried to retaliate. Those two were the most adorable Pokemon on the planet.

I took my sweet time shopping, towing a grumbling Lucas around with me to every shop I could find. He complained a lot but he didn’t really seem to mind. Besides, there was so much to choose from, I didn’t even know where to start.

I eventually settled on a mocha and cream color scheme for the living room and a black, red, and white color scheme for my room. After more grumbling, Lucas chose a green and black color scheme. We matched all the furniture we got to the decided color schemes and were talking to an employee about delivery when a bloodcurdling scream that made my hairs stand on end resounded through the mall.

All activity stopped. People stared at each other for a split second, horrified, and then dashed to the entrance of the store to see what all the commotion was about. Rin and Kiri immediately stopped playing and ran over to me, pressing themselves into either side of me in a protective stance. Lucas tried to move in front of me, but I pushed him out of the way and headed toward the entrance. And that’s when the screaming began.

People were running away from the center of the mall as fast as they could. There was blood everywhere, and several dead bodies littered the floor. In the center of it all was a middle-aged man with black and white hair. He looked every inch the criminal he was, with black gang clothes, huge gold chains around his neck, and tattoos for miles. A smaller woman with pink hair who looked just as thuggish stood next to him, laughing her ass off as her Pokemon (one that I couldn’t identify) tore into a man's side and then proceeded to roast him alive.

Just as I was about to scream in horror, and a hand clamped over my mouth and pulled me back into the store.

“Are you stupid?!” Lucas whisper-yelled, his eyes wide with panic. “They’re gonna see us!” But it was too late. A grunt’s head whipped around towards the noise we made and started running in our direction. Lucas’s face turned ghostly pale and pushed me outside of the store toward the nearest exit.

“Go!” he cried frantically. “I’ll catch up when I’m done with him!” I tried to protest but he gave me one more frantic push, then turned around to face the grunt. But there was no way in hell I was leaving my best friend to die. Just as I was about to attack the grunt, I heard a noise behind me and whipped around to see a man standing behind me. He was obviously part of the criminal organization, but his face seemed to say that he hated every second of it. He was very good-looking, with platinum blonde hair and piercing green eyes that seemed to look into my soul. I was shocked into a standstill, but I then remembered where I was and what these people had done.

A boiling anger rose hot and fast inside of me. Who the hell did these people think they were to take away life?! They would die. All of them. Even the alluring stranger that stood before me. He seemed shocked as well, staring at me with eyes like he was a deer caught in the headlights.

“What the hell do you want?!” I yelled, fury coming off of me in waves. “Who are you to play God?!” Kiri, sensing what I wanted to do, rounded on the man, snarling furiously, hackles raised. The stranger seemed to snap out of it then, and with eyes sparking, he simply said “Team Skull.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. I had heard rumors all over the airport about the deadly gang called team skull. They committed murder, arson, theft: you name it, they did it. They were currently Alola’s biggest problem. And now it seemed they’d turned to terrorism as well.

“Kiri,” I said in a dangerously low voice. “Flamethrower.”

The man barely had enough time to dodge as a column of fire flew towards him. Muttering a colorful string of curse words, he quickly withdrew a Pokeball from his red and black sweater and threw it toward the ground. What came out of it was the oddest Pokemon I’d ever seen. It looked like it had been constructed out of multiple Pokemon. It has the claws of a bird, the tail of a fish, the legs of an insect, and many other types of Pokemon parts. The most prominent feature was the huge helmet it sported on its head. It looked extremely uncomfortable.

I refocused my attention on the battle and had Kiri use flamethrower again. The beast dodged with amazing speed. I would have to be smart about this battle. I could tell the man was no run-of-the-mill grunt. Oddly enough, he still hadn’t commanded his Pokemon to attack. He seemed hesitant to do so. I took advantage of this hesitation without remorse.

“Kiri, psyshock, then flamethrower while it's disoriented!” Kiri raced to do my bidding. She and Rin loved battling, and I had always felt bad about not being able to battle other trainers with them. I would use this asshole as practice.

Kiri’s psyshock landed with deadly accuracy, but it didn’t phase the beast like I’d hoped. Just as Kiri was about to deliver a flamethrower to it, police sirens began to wail outside the mall.

“Yo Gladion, kill the bitch and let’s scram!” the leader yelled at him. “You wanna be locked up this?!”

I turned to look at the bastard, fury still radiating off me in waves. That mistake cost me. The last thing I felt was a sharp pain in the back of my head, and then the world went black.


End file.
